Goldsmiths09

Almost forgot, went to Milan this year...

Check out what we were up to at Goldsmiths09

Prototype Lego Rotomolder

Lego Roto Molder from Jonathan@ on Vimeo.

Workbench

Today Olly and I spent the afternoon making some legs for a worktop we acquired last year. Hopefully the new bench will make making things a little easier, unfortunately we are not aloud to keep it in the kitchen.

Wood

Last night I used the website eastex and managed to find a company trying to get rid of lots of waste wood, so today I went and picked up a load. The websites pretty good and hopefully it will get a lot better if more companies/people get involved. It's brilliant what can happen when a guy with a load of spare wood can talk to a chap who needs a few planks. A big thanks goes to Peter for being so generous. I managed to haul back a few planks short of my own body weight in wood, it was a little strenuous but well worth it.

Concrete Former

Concrete former for the two sides of the bookcase.

Draw, Model, Model...

Cast concrete sides, plywood shelves.

Us Now

I went to see Us Now at the Barbican last night. It's a documentary about the power of connecting people through new media and the internet. I was really impressed and left feeling very excited about the potential it has for social change but also with a sense of responsibility. The film was followed by a lively debate with director Ivo Gormley where it was mentioned that the internet and the changes it's creating, will be what our generation is remember for.

Deffinately try and catch Us Now if you can.

Cement+2

Today I've tried adding a little sand to the woodcrete to try and strengthen it up. I've also tried mixing polystyrene, sand and cement to make... polycrete?! Results in a few days.

Cement+

Not amazing results, I should have left them longer to dry. The bark and leaves came out ok but only because I cheated and mixed quite a lot of sand in, so they are still quite heavy. The woodcrete used no sand but crumbled in my hand and the reinforced woodcrete only just held up.
From left to right: Barkcrete, Leafcrete, Woodcrete, Reinforced Woodcrete(the bamboo is then covered with another layer of woodcrete.
Picking the concrete up again this week, I really like the material but if I'm being sensible it's just too heavy for the types of things I have in mind. So I'm going to experiment with using different aggregates to try and lighten things up. First up sawdust and wood chippings kindly donated to me from the joiners in Brockley.

Concrete

I was really pleased with the finish, it's rough on the face but all the other surfaces are very smooth.
The mold had to be sacrificed to free it, but it will be simple enough to make a better one next time.
A very scary night, I kept thinking the mold was going to give way spilling over 13 liters of concrete on my floor and my housemate who sleeps below. From now on casting happens outside.

It's too cold to for the concrete to set outside, so I'm casting it in my room.

I want to explore concrete and the process of casting. I like the idea of making objects by casting because it almost feels like cheating, one mold and from it many objects. This is my first play with concrete and I've decided to make a side table/bookshelf thing.